Lana Del Rey

Music is secondary to me. I wish I could go back to normal. I’m a really quiet person. I always have been. It’s hard when you see a lot of things written about you. It’s not what I had in mind.

Who is Lana Del Rey? That’s the question cynical music bloggers and curious indie music fans have been asking ever since the mercurial chanteuse uploaded the video for her single “Video Games” to the web in the summer of 2011. The moonstruck montage has transformed the native New Yorker into something of a cult figure. But for every glowing endorsement (they’re out there, trust us), Del Rey is met with a chorus line of detractors who question the enchanting songstress’ authenticity, thanks to her out-of-nowhere deal with Interscope and her pinup girl looks that some suggest have been augmented by plastic surgery. But despite all the backlash, Del Rey is selling out shows both at home and abroad, and her debut LP, Born To Die, was one of the best-selling albums of 2012. Clearly, homegirl’s doing something right.

SEX APPEAL

Since breaking out in 2011, more ink has been spilled over Lana Del Rey’s doll-like looks than her actual music. One glance at her voluminous ’do, saucer eyes and those already-infamous beestung lips, and it’s easy to see why she’s been likened to everything from a hipster Lauren Bacall to a pornified Ann-Margret. But the moniker that’s drawn the most attention is the one she came up with herself: the gangster Nancy Sinatra. Hey, it works for us.

SUCCESS

Lana Del Rey’s rise to stardom was so swift, so meticulous, that it’s hard not to buy into the claims that her career to date has been carefully orchestrated by a bunch of shrewd record execs perched in an office somewhere in Midtown. In a slight variation of the Bieber blueprint, Del Rey released the video for her ethereal and infectious ballad “Video Games” online, only to watch it go viral. Not even a near all-out internet backlash spearheaded by suspicious journos determined to debunk her indie cred can slow down Del Rey’s momentum. Tickets to her first batch of shows in cities like London, Toronto and New York sold out in minutes, and venues needed to be changed to accommodate the feverish demand. Her debut album, Born To Die, met massive praise and reached No. 1 in eleven countries. So love her or hate her, you’d better get used to her, because Lana Del Rey isn’t going anywhere.

Lana Del Rey Biography

We can’t recall the last time an artist’s background has been as closely scrutinized as Lana Del Rey’s, but in an industry in which authenticity is currency, stars need to be prepared to defend theirs if and when it gets called into question. So far, Del Rey has been skittish at best. We know that her real name is Elizabeth Grant, her father is a successful investor and that Del Rey -- though born in New York -- was raised in Lake Placid before attending boarding school in Connecticut.

That’s where things start to get a little murky. We know that she moved to New York to pursue a career in music, and after meeting white-chick rapper Princess Superstar, moved to a trailer park in New Jersey. We know that she released an EP in 2009 called Kill Kill under the name Lizzie Grant and performed in dive bars across Williamsburg. We know that as Lizzie Grant she didn’t get much attention, disappeared for a while and then reemerged as Lana Del Rey, the retro-chic, puffy-lipped bombshell who exists today. And that’s when the problems began.

Lana Del Rey Releases "Video Games"

After Lana Del Rey posted the clip of her hit song “Video Games” on YouTube, the sensual lullaby become one of the most ubiquitous tracks of the year racking up over 20 million views. It was officially adopted by the hipster set when Pitchfork anointed it with its coveted “Best New Track” status, and migrated to the mainstream when it was featured on an episode of Gossip Girl. Soon, everyone from MTV to Rolling Stone was crowning Del Rey as music’s “Next Big Thing,” which probably had something to do with her debut gig in London selling out in 30 minutes. But with all the sudden success came the scrutiny: charges that Del Rey’s whole persona -- the indie Lolita with attitude -- was fabricated. The same indie music bloggers who first embraced her were now her most vocal critics.

Lana Del Rey Releases Born To Die

Despite the polarizing reaction (or maybe because of it), Lana Del Rey closed out 2011 as the most talked-about act in music. All the hate did nothing to slow her ticket sales, as shows in Toronto and her homecoming at New York’s Bowery Ballroom sold out almost instantly. Del Rey’s released her highly anticipated debut LP titled Born To Die in 2012, which will included follow-up singles “Blue Jeans” and the album’s title track. The question now becomes: Will Lana Del Rey sustain a legitimate career once the initial hype around her dies? Will her old identity as the beige Lizzy Grant be too much to overcome? It may help to remember that Lady Gaga was once Stefani Germanotta, just another wannabe star from the Upper West Side, and, well, look how things turned out for her. Lana Del Rey's followup EP, Paradise, debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and she grabbed herself the role of being the face of both H&M's Fall and Winter collections and the Jaguar F-Type.